sad topic............

[sewchick]

Quote:
Me too. Now I know. I am glad the OP posted this.

 

[the_great_snag]

Quote:
The culling I have had to do was chicks that were injured. I usually will let them try to get over an illness as long as it doesn't seem to be endangering their mates.

I had a day old BO that I stepped on when I was putting it in the brooder. That one really made me mad at myself.

I had to cull her before she suffered too long.

 

[ears73]

Luckily I've never had to do it!!
Pulling it's head off? Scissors?? Yikes. My friend calls her technique 'shoveling' and I think she squishes them under the shovel head... no great options for sure, but I guess when it has to be done it just has to be done.

 

[winniegirl]

There's a thread on this topic posted just awhile back:
described a simple way of putting them to sleep with a closed container and a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. It seemed
simple, fast and most humane to me.

Check it out here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=147192

 

[EweSheep]

I've done different things to chicks and all of them are good methods. One sure fire way I use in a pinch, I put them in a bag and SMASH the chick HARD against the concrete sidewalk. Its quick and they dont know what hit them before they realized anything.

 

[pefferlawchicken]

well , i had to cull my new babie today

he had a spraddled leg and it was not fixing and he wouldnt open his eyes: i did the co2 way it worked very quickly and i didnt have to do much , hope this helped

 

[Momma_Cluck]

I used a plastic airtight container from the $$ store, and a cloth soaked in carburetor fluid (Ether)
They go right to sleep and then die peacefully---

I know the other methods are "preferred"... I just couldn't do it.

 

[briana1975]

Quote:
This is what we did but I couldn't do it so I had my husband do it.

 

[chickens asome]

i am sorry about your loss

 

[cwc362]

Anything that is fast and quick is good for the chick- To keep it from suffering- I think the hardest part of a lot of methods are the feelings of the human caregiver. Growing up on around farms, Usually small animals were "knocked in the head" with a hammer or club. There is nothing wrong with doing it that way as it is quick and very effective for small animals. Larger grown animals were usually taken out with a bullet behind the ear or in between the eyes. But many people didn't grow up having to do stuff like this and it's just too hard on them to use a "violent" (for lack of a better word) method. Part of being a responsible caretaker of pets and livestock is to be able to put them out of misery when you have no other choice. It's never going to be easy or pretty but it's part of the lifestyle. It's not always easy and you can't run to the vet every time this comes up unless you have a fortune to spend. The hard part is the decision to do it and then getting the nerve to do it. After it's done it usually doesn't bother you that long , because you know you have done the right thing by an animal that is suffering. This forum is wonderful because you can get a lot of information on methods and support from people who have been in the same shoes . Sorry you had to go through but it comes with the territory . Luckily there are so many rewarding things about raising and caring for your animals and watching them grow that outweigh the occasional bad things.